Disability Rights

About Disability Rights

AVI has supported people living with disabilities through the work of our long standing partner Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK). To date 30,000 people have been able to claim their basic rights through a grant from DFID from 2009 to 2013. The evaluators of that project Tripple Line produced a positive report which can be found
here
. We will now reach a further 15,000 people in 1,200 villages in five districts of Bihar and Jharkhand with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund which will end in 2017.

As the most marginalised people in rural India, people living with disabilities are traditionally seen as a burden on the family. Through being able to access their rights and by learning to run their own organisations the views of their family members, doctors, government officers, media and the wider community will change dramatically. Below are a couple of quotes about the impact of the project upon beneficiaries’ lives:

“Before the project I was not treated as a human being”. Said by Sanjay, a beneficiary from a self-help group in Giridih- Hazaribag.

“I told my family to call me by my name not by my disability. I said: I don’t call you by the colour of your shirt! That was the first change I saw happen.” Said by Lakham, Treasurer of the self-help group in Jagdishpor – Hazaribag.

Joshi's story

Joshi applied for a loan of no more than £5 to modify his tricycle and to buy stock to enable him to set up a mobile shop selling sweets and biscuits whilst peddling around the town. His confidence and self-esteem have increased and he is now respected by his family members. He has not only been able to pay back the loan but to provide for his family's needs. This has raised his standing in the local community.

The project will raise people's income through enabling access to government benefits and schemes. It will enable people with disabilities to access skills training such as in mobile phone repair, bicycle fixing, motor winding. These will be accompanied by work placements to enhance employability. We will also make available access to micro credit to set up small enterprises or to expand an existing family business, and Joshi is an example of the impact of that.

You can make regular or one off donations to support this project by visiting Just Giving: